Hopefully, many of you have received the Feb/Mar issue of NSU (at least in the U.S). In my Notes column, there is a plea for our readers to send letters or e-mails to specific non-sport manufacturers asking for their advertising support of Non-Sport Update magazine.

We are currently soliciting ads for the Apr/May issue and the results are not good. It becomes harder and harder for us to continue the magazine without the funds needed to pay the printer and the biggest portion of these funds come from advertising.

Let's start a thread saying you have sent a letter or e-mail to one of the companies mentioned. Also, when you buy items from one of our advertisers, please let them know it's because of their ad in NSU. Thanks.

Roxanne

No comments?? What gives with that?

Roxanne

I haven't had a chance to read the magazine yet since I just received it yesterday, but I'll try my best to order something from one of the ads in it!

I will be more than happy to tell all that I deal with that I saw their ads within your magazine.
I carry it with me and the NSU price guide whenever I go to a show, over here in the RI, MA, & CT area. Only one problem though...I haven't received the current issue yet. But I know it's in the mail. We've been getting slammed with snow so maybe that slowed things down a day or two?

I sent a really good inquiry to Upper Deck today with several observations about their lack of entertainment card ads. I requested a response too.

Will get emails out to ArtBox and Pannini later this evening.

Maybe I will see a Pannini rep at the NFL Experience show later this week. Believe me I will give him an earful!

And Roxanne, Marlin & Harris know what a motor mouth I can be in person

This economy really sucks.

Might be time to switch the magazine back to quarterly for a year or 2. Do we really need the price guide so often? Once or twice a year would be fine for me.

Unfortunately the cost of new cards has gone way above my hobby budget. I have scaled way back as everything continues to go up except my paycheck which keeps shrinking.

I Hope the magazine and website can survive.

Its kind of an unhappy situation because many companies are penny wise and pound foolish. Card manufacturers have to invest in the hobby if they expect to attract new collectors so that their products will have a growing market. But their goals are short sighted and they don't seem to see the advantage in advertising in the only magazine dedicated to non-sport cards.

Personally I have ordered stuff from about half of the listed NSU advertisers at one time or another, so it does work.

I have ordered from dealers advertising in the magazine. Perhaps references to non-advertising companies should be removed from cardtalk (why let their products be discussed if they don't contribute).
As Erik has stated lets have 2 price guides a year and one more article a month, surely that would save paper, printing and postage costs, or put the price guide on-line and make it only available to subscribers of NSU magazine.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: hammer,

I sent an email out to an advertiser today. Thanking them for advertising and supporting the hobby.

quote:

Originally posted by EriktheArchitect:
This economy really sucks.

Might be time to switch the magazine back to quarterly for a year or 2. Do we really need the price guide so often? Once or twice a year would be fine for me.

Unfortunately the cost of new cards has gone way above my hobby budget. I have scaled way back as everything continues to go up except my paycheck which keeps shrinking.

I Hope the magazine and website can survive.

I agree with Erik on both counts.

quote:

Originally posted by Roxanne:
Hopefully, many of you have received the Feb/Mar issue of NSU (at least in the U.S).
Roxanne

I live in Canada and have yet to receive my copy
any ideas when this is shipping
my first subscription with you so not aware that US gets theirs earlier

No comments back from NSU - you asked for comments but nothing back

I'll see a couple of Dealers, that advertise in NSU, at the Feb 20, 2011 Attleboro, Mass, trading card/toy show, and I'll make sure I tell them that I see their advertisements in your magazine. I always carry it inside anyways.

We have been watching this closely. There have been some good suggestions but I really wanted to hear from people who actually wrote to the three manufacturers. Did anyone?

So far Artbox & Upper Deck have not responded to me

Due to the weather, I didn't attend the NFL Experience so I will write to Panini this week since I didn't get to talk to them.

How about a digital copy of the magazine? Or a digital copy of the price guide. It would reduce costs greatly.

I buy every issue and would happily pay for a digital version sent directly to me. You could even still mail out Promos.

do not need a price guide every issue
or you could make that digital

Be careful what you wish for.

The idea is to support NSU as a magazine. I could see the price guide at twice a year and I could even see NSU cutting back from every other month to quarterly, 4 instead of 6. But digital copies, I hate them.

We collect paper cards, I want to keep a paper NSU.

quote:

We collect paper cards, I want to keep a paper NSU.

Amen to that!

I'm perfectly willing to pay a higher subscription rate as long as you don't shrink the articles down in size anymore than you already have...

Thats what other surviving periodicals do in the absence of ad submissions...

I would gladly pay more $$ to keep NSU as a magazine. I enjoy the stories and the price guide (even though I must use a magnifier to read ....), and the "Family" here.